The Young Class

A timid, soft-hearted sweetheart of a heroine vs. a cold, aloof beauty on a pedestal

- A battle among male suitors

- The heroine is a little bit of a magnet for everyone

Xiaoshan was born dim-witted. She was bad at farmwork, and even worse at needlework. She could embroider a pair of mandarin ducks until they looked like ducks, and for a while she thought she'd never get married.

Then, when she was fourteen, Xiaoshan rescued a man while washing clothes by the river. He was so beautiful, like the radiant sun and moon, beautiful and compassionate. Xiaoshan fell in love with him at first sight.

From then on, Xiaoshan stayed by his side, caring for him like a devoted little wife. At last, one day, his wounds began to heal and he slowly came around.

Xiaoshan blinked her big, sparkling eyes and asked in a soft voice, "Will you live in harmony with me, like the strings of a qin and se, for the rest of our lives?"

Living in harmony like the strings of a qin and se, for the rest of their lives. Those were the words the village aunties had taught her, saying she must say them to the man she loved.

But the man only sneered, accusing her of using her kindness to demand repayment and indulging in wishful thinking.

Xiaoshan wasn't! Xiaoshan hadn't!

She didn't know what to do, so she could only hide in a corner, biting her finger and crying.

She thought she would never love him again. She steeled herself, turned around, and ran off with the oil peddler from down the mountain.

Xiaoshan had thought that she would never have anything to do with him again. She still thought so even when she was locked away in a golden house.

Xiaoshan couldn't believe that this man, so noble and radiant as the sun and moon, could be so sinister and violent inside.

He wouldn't let Xiaoshan leave the room, and wouldn't even let her look at anyone else. He was cold-hearted, with a heart of stone.

Then one day, Xiaoshan discovered that her belly had suddenly grown as round as a ball. She was so frightened that she burst into tears.

Just then, a coup broke out in the palace, and the capital was thrown into chaos.

Clutching her belly, Xiaoshan squeezed into a narrow cupboard. She was trembling with fear, yet the first person she thought of was the man who had made her feel both fear and love.

That night,

Yan Gui's cavalry surrounded the entire capital, all to find one woman.

_

One day, later on,

Xiaoshan nestled in Yan Gui's arms, smiling dreamily as she asked, "When did you first fall in love with me?" She was quite pleased with herself.

From the very first glance.

He thought that from the moment he first saw her, he had fallen in love with this beautiful, dim-witted little darling.

Xiaoshan would never know how, on the night she was gravely ill, Yan Gui had knelt on nine thousand heavenly steps, begging every Buddha in the temple to take pity on him.

To bring her back to his side.

Bonus scene:

Yan Gui and Xiaoshan had a pair of adorable twins.

The older one was a boy, the younger one a girl, but both were domineering and willful. Who could they have taken after?

One day, Xiaoshan tried to teach them to read, but she could barely recognize a few characters herself. Afraid the two little ones would laugh at her, she took one in each hand and went straight to the study to find Yan Gui.

He put the two children down beneath the desk and held only Xiaoshan, writing two lines and reading them aloud to her:

"My wife is still young,

I soothe my darling with tender words."

He loved this girl with all his heart. Just like when they first met, she had smiled brightly, her eyes curving into crescents.

And so he had fallen into a love that he could never sever in this lifetime.

Theme: Turn back from the sea of suffering, and perseverance will eventually bear fruit.